Privacy Policy

Ascent Development respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, contact us, make an enquiry, subscribe to communications or engage with our consulting, training, coaching or other services.

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Ascent Development is the data controller responsible for the personal information described in this policy.

1. Who we are

Ascent Development provides consulting, training, coaching and people development services to individuals and organisations, including businesses, schools, colleges and housing organisations.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact:

Email: Suzanne@ascentdevelopment.co.uk
Telephone: 07763 232 763

2. The personal information we collect

The information we collect will depend on how you interact with us.

It may include:

• Your name

• Job title and organisation

• Email address

• Telephone number

• Information you provide through website contact forms

• Information contained within emails or other correspondence

• Information you provide when booking or participating in training, consulting or coaching

• Billing and payment information

• Records relating to services provided to you or your organisation

• Feedback, testimonials or evaluation responses

• Marketing preferences

• Technical information relating to your use of our website, such as your IP address, browser type, device information and website activity

• Any other information you choose to provide to us

We only collect personal information that is relevant to the purpose for which it is required.

3. Sensitive personal information

Ascent Development does not routinely ask individuals to provide special category or sensitive personal information.

However, because some of our work relates to wellbeing, trauma-informed practice, leadership, personal development and coaching, individuals may sometimes choose to share information relating to their health, wellbeing or personal circumstances.

Where we need to record or otherwise process this type of information, we will only do so where there is an appropriate lawful basis and an additional condition under UK data protection law. Where appropriate, this may include obtaining your explicit consent.

We will not use sensitive personal information for purposes unrelated to the reason it was provided.

4. Information relating to children and young people

Ascent Development may provide services to schools, colleges and other organisations that work with children and young people.

Where Ascent Development receives personal information about a child or young person as part of work commissioned by an organisation, we will only use that information where necessary for the delivery of the relevant service and in accordance with applicable data protection and safeguarding requirements.

Where another organisation, such as a school or college, determines why and how personal information is used, that organisation may remain the data controller and Ascent Development may act as a data processor on its behalf.

We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children through this website unless this is specifically required and appropriate.

5. How we collect your information

We may collect personal information when you:

• Contact us through our website

• Contact us by email or telephone

• Make an enquiry about our services

• Engage Ascent Development to provide services

• Attend a workshop, training session or programme

• Participate in coaching or consulting

• Complete a feedback or evaluation form

• Subscribe to receive articles, resources or updates

• Interact with our website

• Communicate with us through another professional or business channel

We may also receive information from an organisation that has commissioned us to provide services, such as your employer, school, college or another organisation with which you are associated.

Where information is provided to us by another organisation, we will only use it for an appropriate and legitimate purpose.

6. How we use your personal information

We may use personal information for the following purposes.

Responding to enquiries

We use your contact details and the information contained within your enquiry to respond to you and provide information about our services.

Our lawful basis will usually be our legitimate interests in responding to enquiries or taking steps prior to entering into a contract.

Providing our services

We use personal information where necessary to arrange and deliver consulting, training, coaching, workshops and other services.

Our lawful basis may be the performance of a contract, taking steps at your request before entering into a contract, or our legitimate interests in providing services to our clients.

Managing client relationships

We may retain contact and correspondence information to manage our professional relationships with clients, suppliers and other organisations.

We rely on our legitimate interests in managing and developing our business relationships.

Administration, invoicing and financial records

We may process contact, transaction and billing information to manage bookings, issue invoices, maintain accounting records and meet our financial and legal obligations.

Our lawful basis may be contractual necessity and compliance with legal obligations.

Improving our services

We may use feedback, survey responses and other information to understand the effectiveness of our services and improve what we provide.

Where appropriate, information may be anonymised or aggregated before being used for these purposes.

We rely on our legitimate interests in evaluating and improving our services.

Sending relevant communications

If you have asked to receive articles, resources, news or updates from Ascent Development, we may use your contact details to send these communications.

Where consent is required, we will obtain it before sending marketing communications.

In other circumstances we may rely on legitimate interests where permitted by law.

You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.

Operating and protecting our website

We may use technical information to maintain the security, performance and functionality of our website and to help prevent misuse, fraud or unauthorised access.

We rely on our legitimate interests in maintaining a secure and effective website.

Website analytics

Where you have provided the necessary cookie consent, we may use analytics technologies to understand how visitors use the website, including which pages are visited and how users navigate the site.

This information helps us improve the website and understand which content is useful to visitors.

7. Our lawful bases for processing

Depending on the circumstances, we may process personal information on the basis of:

Consent – where you have given us clear permission to use your information for a particular purpose.

Contract – where processing is necessary to perform a contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

Legal obligation – where we need to process information to comply with a legal requirement.

Legitimate interests – where processing is reasonably necessary for the operation of Ascent Development and does not unfairly override your rights and interests.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, these may include:

• Responding to enquiries

• Managing client and professional relationships

• Providing and improving our services

• Maintaining appropriate business records

• Maintaining the security of our systems and website

• Developing and operating Ascent Development

8. Who we may share personal information with

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share information with trusted third parties where this is reasonably necessary, including:

• Website hosting and IT service providers

• Email and communications providers

• Booking, administration or business software providers

• Payment and accounting providers

• Professional advisers, including accountants, legal advisers and insurers

• Organisations that have commissioned Ascent Development to provide services, where appropriate

• Contractors or associates involved in delivering services on our behalf

• Regulators, government bodies, law enforcement agencies or other authorities where we are legally required to do so

Third-party providers acting on our behalf are only permitted to process personal information for the purposes for which they have been engaged and are expected to protect it appropriately.

9. International transfers

Some organisations that provide technology, hosting, communications or other services to us may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate protections are in place in accordance with UK data protection law.

This may include transferring information to countries recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection or using approved contractual safeguards.

10. How long we keep your information

We do not retain personal information for longer than reasonably necessary.

The length of time information is retained will depend on:

• Why the information was collected

• Whether we continue to have a relationship with you or your organisation

• Contractual requirements

• Accounting and taxation requirements

• Legal or regulatory requirements

• Potential legal claims

• The nature and sensitivity of the information

Financial and contractual records may need to be retained for longer periods in order to comply with legal, accounting and taxation requirements.

Marketing information will be retained until you unsubscribe, withdraw your consent where applicable, or we determine that it is no longer appropriate to retain it.

Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted, anonymised or otherwise disposed of appropriately.

11. Cookies and website technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies.

Some cookies are necessary for the website to function correctly. Others may help us understand how visitors use the website or provide additional functionality.

Where cookies or similar technologies are not strictly necessary, they will only be used where the appropriate permission has been obtained.

You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie controls provided on our website and through your browser settings.

Further information about the cookies used on this website should be provided through our Cookie Policy or cookie settings.

12. Keeping your information secure

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:

• Unauthorised access

• Accidental loss

• Misuse

• Alteration

• Disclosure

• Destruction

Access to personal information is limited to people who reasonably need access to it for legitimate business purposes.

While no internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, we take reasonable steps to maintain appropriate safeguards for the information entrusted to us.

13. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law gives you a number of rights in relation to your personal information.

These may include the following.

Access your information

You can ask us for confirmation that we process your personal information and request a copy of the information we hold about you.

Correct your information

You can ask us to correct personal information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

Request deletion

In certain circumstances, you can ask us to delete your personal information.

Restrict processing

You may be able to ask us to restrict how we use your information.

Object to processing

You may have the right to object where we process information on the basis of legitimate interests.

You also have the right to object to your personal information being used for direct marketing at any time.

Data portability

In certain circumstances, you may have the right to receive personal information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Withdraw consent

Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw that consent at any time.

Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

You will not normally have to pay a fee to exercise your rights.

To make a request, please contact:

Suzanne@ascentdevelopment.co.uk

We may need to verify your identity before responding to a request.

14. Marketing communications

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by:

• Using the unsubscribe option included within our marketing emails

• Contacting us at Suzanne@ascentdevelopment.co.uk

Stopping marketing communications will not prevent us from contacting you where necessary in connection with an existing service, booking, contract or legitimate administrative matter.

15. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by other organisations.

Ascent Development is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of third-party websites.

We recommend reviewing the privacy information provided by any third-party website before providing personal information to it.

16. Complaints

If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal information, we would encourage you to contact us first so that we can try to resolve the matter.

Email: Suzanne@ascentdevelopment.co.uk
Telephone: 07763 232 763

You also have the right to raise a concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection.

17. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, website, technology or legal obligations.

The latest version will be published on this website and the date at the top of this policy will be updated accordingly.

We recommend reviewing this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we use and protect personal information.

18. Contact us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, requests concerning your personal information or any other privacy-related matter, please contact:

Ascent Development

Email: Suzanne@ascentdevelopment.co.uk
Telephone: 07763 232 763